Veterinary pen



Nov. 4, 1952 c. B. HUTCHINGS VETERINARY PEN 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed Dec. 24, 1949 I flaws? I l a/Isa? l nsil i mania/w ma/1.2a

.7 ma/10m Nov. 4, 1952 c. B. HUTCHI'NGS VETERINARY PEN 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Dec. 24, 1949 attorney Patented Nov. 4, 1952 o-esiies;

This 'invention relatesto'a veterinaryi'pen" and it'is one object of the invention to provide apen' iniwhich "animals may" be' driven? andtconfined" while '-being"'operated upon for vaccination-,iin: oculation, ringing, emasculation andtbeglike":

Another:ob'ject 'of the invention is' to provide aipen: having si'de'i. walls which: are pivotally" mounted" for swinging movement transversely of the "peninto and "out? of position" for gripping an" animalifrom opposite sides and 'holdingrth'e animal' while an operation" or other treatment is being performed.

'Anotherzobject of the invention is to provide" a pemwherein the two side wallslhave operat-' ing mechanism" including a single actuating! lever by means of which the wall-st are caused tomove into and outoffa gripping position.

,Anotherl object of lfthe invention is to provide is; pen. having a bottom orufloor which islshiftable. vertically Ffiomiits normal position to a lowered position and thussallow' an animalwinetheipen to be supported -upon,v a bar it extending, ,longitne d'iiiallii,,,in the. penflwith'. its feet. out of Acontact with the ground Another object ofthe invention. .is to provide means for shifting the bottom vertically includl-l irig. aisingle ilever. bylmeans of whichthe vertical shifting. movement :is accomplished v Theinventi'onis' v.illiistratednin .theiaecompanye ing drawings wherein; V

Fig.v 1 ..is a. perspective view" of the-improved veterinarypen" Fig 2 Zis a vertical sectional Vi6W etakenntranse Y versely. throughthepenw Fig.2 3 Tis..a fragmentary-view. uponean enlarged i scale lookinguat .one. iendloiithe "pen and showing i mechanism fol-adjusting side .wa1lsthereof..

Fi"g. 4' is a perspective view uponzlawrediicedt scale of the bottom or floor andmeans. for vertia.

callv'ia'djii'sting .the floor].

This improved veterinary pen isopen .atmopp o-i site ends and has. front and rear cornenposts .11 and I to which are secured upper crossl.bars.2' and 2 and'lower cross-bars3 and 3 whichL.ex-..

longitudinally of vthe walls so that when the pen;

. isinu-se a veterinary doctor may reach between the rodsiand lintohthe. pen. The upper rails or. rodsihave opposite endportions passed through opposite end: portions of the upper cross bars andserving to pivotally mount the side walls 4 for v 21 swinging movement towards each: otherfromthef normaliposition shown "in Figured andin which ananimal is released or free; to a gripping-posta tion in which the side walls' have pressing and gripping-engagement with opposite =sides-of *an animal inthe-pen; Ends ofthe'rods- 5 are thi'eadfed' and-"e'ach' carries" a nut 8' and "a wasHer against which" the nut bearsr A gang plank or ramp 1 0 leads to the entrance' at the front endofthe pen and a similar'gangz plank ll leads from the *rear' end' ofthe -pen'-"so-x that an: animal may readily *enter and leave' the' pen." If'the side walls are not entirely moved to vertical position when "an'animal' is released an'd another driven towards the entrance at the frontend of the-pen, the animal may 'endavonto-fdi'ce its -way'-between=thefront cern'er' p'osts I and the front "ends of "the side-'wa'lls lv Inorder to prevent'this th'e'='side--wallscarry at their-frontendssil wings-12 which gradually increase -in -width to gward-s" their lower ends and serve to block spaces between the-front cornerpostsl and-front-ends" of' the sidewalls when the side walls are swung theiriouter endspivoted tofends ofthe lower trails:-

or'irod-s T6 of the side walls-Y4"; A third'arm" I8, is: providedfo'r. the spider 'at 'the" re'a'riend'rofvtther pen and" to" this armisp'rvotedthe innerendofaflink l a'wmcn has itsiout'er endpivoted to anaetuatin'g lever 20'? Thisactuating'lever is a latch'le'ven'and is pivotally mounted at. its'lower endto thea'dja' cent rear cornerpo'st' I in 'cooperatingrelation'to an arcuate rack 2| carried by the said'corner'post soithat'the pawl 22" of vthe latch lever'may engage teethoffthe rack and rele'asablyjholdthe lever in a "set'positionwvith the" side walls in an adjusted position; Since thelspiders'arebothrigidly flied to the shaft I 3 andturn withiiti the side wallsl'wi'll be; simultaneously:swung ..transversely v-ofithe pen toiclamping vor releasing positionsr An. animal entering the .pen walks .onto a? hot-1 tom. or from 23 whichextendsithe fulllwidthand length of the pen and hasvat it's corners recesses:

2'4 'into which fitinner edge portions of the posts l and la. The floor is formed of planks zs'wmcn;

of and have their end portions rotatably supported by posts I and la a short distance above the floor. Drums 3| are carried by the shaft 30 and about these drums are wound cables 32 and 33 which are secured to opposite side edge portions of the floor. The cables 33 extend transversely across the pen close to the lower cross bars 3 and 3a and are trained about pulleys 34 carried by the rod or shaft 30a at the opposite side of the pen from the drums 3| before being extended downwardly andsecured .to the floor. A latch lever 34 is loosely'mounted upon the shaft 30 and upon this shaft is rigidly mounted a ratchet wheel 35 having its teeth engaged by the pawl 36 of the latch lever so that when the latch lever is rocked upon the shaft 30, the shaft will be turned and the cables wound about the drums and draw the floor upwardly to its raised position close to the under surface of the pipe or tubular bar 29 where it is held by a pawl or dog 31 pivoted to one corner post. This dog has a handle 38 by means of which it may be tilted to a releasing position and allow the cables to unwind from the drums and the floor move downwardly to a lowered position. It will thus be seen that an animal may be driven into the pen and stand upon the floor and either immediately clamped by shifting the sidewalls inwardly to a clamping position or the floor may be released after the animal has entered the pen and the animal lowered to a position in which the bar 29 extends longitudinally of the animal between its legs and the animals stomach rests upon the bar. The animals feet will then be out of engagement with the floor and when the side walls are swung inwardly to a clamping position the animal will be firmly held and can not jump upwardly or to one side or the other in attempting to escape from the pen. Sincethe side walls have vertical slats or rods 1 which are spaced transversely from each other a veterinary doctor may thrust his hands and arms into the pen and conveniently reach the animal for performing various operations. After an operation hasbeen completed the floor is returned to its raised position in which the animals feet rest upon the floor and'the sidewalls then swung outwardly to a releasing position. The animal may then walk out ofthe pen. I

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

I 1. A veterinary pen open at front and rear ends and comprising front and rear end walls each having side posts and upper and lower cross bars, the lower cross bars being spaced upwardly from lower ends of the posts, side walls extending between said end walls, abottom extending between said endwalls andunder the side walls, said bottom being free from said posts and slidable along lower portions of the posts from a lowered position below the lower cross barsto a raised position between the lower cross bars, means for shifting said bottom vertically and supporting it in its raised and lowered positions, and a bar extending longitudinally in said pen over said bottom and supported by said lower cross bar midway the width of the bottom in position to extend longitudinally between front and rear legs of an animal and support the animal by contact with the animals stomach when the bottom is in a lowered position.

2. A veterinary pen open at front and rear ends and comprising end walls consisting of side posts and upper and lower cross bars extending between the posts, side walls extending between said end walls and at ends of their upper .edges being pivoted to said posts for swinging movement transversely of the pen into and out ofaclamping position, lateral wings extending outwardly from ends of said side walls at the front end of the pen, mechanism carried by one end wall and connected with adjacent ends of the side walls for swinging the side walls transversely of the pen to adjusted positions, and holding the side walls in the adjusted positions, and a floor for said pen mounted between the end walls and having side portions extending under the side walls.

3. A veterinary pen open at front and rear ends and'comprisingrend walls consisting of side posts and upper and lower cross bars carried by the posts, the lower cross bars being spaced upwardly from lower ends of said posts, side walls mounted between said end walls, a floor for the pen extending between the end walls and having side portions disposed under the side walls, said floor being free from the walls and having corner portions slidable vertically along said post and serving to guide vertical movement of the floor to raised and lowered positions, a bar extending longitudinally in said pen above said floor and rigidly supported between the lower cross bars midway the width of the crib and constituting a support for extending longitudinally between front and rear legs of an animal in supporting contact with the animal's stomach when the floor is moved to a lowered position disposing an animals feet out of contact with the floor, a shaft rotatably mounted between the end walls in position above the floor, drums carried by said shaft, cables wound about the drums and connected with pposite side edge portions of the floor, and means for rotating said shaft and thereby turning the drums to raise and lowerthe floor.

4. A veterinary pen open at front and rear ends and comprising end walls each consisting of side posts and upper and lower cross bars, the lower cross bars being spaced upwardly from lower ends of said posts, side walls mounted between said end walls, a floor extending between the end walls and having side portions p rojectingoutwardly under the side walls and slidable vertically along lower portions of the posts from a raised position between the lower cross bars to a lowered position upon the ground, a bar extending longitudinally in said pen over the floor and supported by the lower cross bar in position for extending longitudinally between front and rear legs of an animal and engaging the animal's stomach and support the animal when the floor is in a lowered position disposing the animal's feet out of contact with the floor, shafts extending longitudinally of said pen over outwardly projecting opposite side edge portions of the floor and rotatably supported by front and rear posts, drums carried by one shaft, cables wound upon said drums and connected to opposite side edge portions of the floor, pulleys carried by the other 5 shaft and about which the cables are trained, a REFERENCES CITED latch lever loosely carried by the drum'can'ying The following references are of record in the shafts, a ratchet wheel rigidly carried by the drum-carrying shaft and engaged pawl of the file of this patent latch lever for rotating the ratchet wheel and 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS the said drum-carrying shaft in a direction to Number Na e Date wind the cables upon the drums and raise the 888,001 Crapnell May 19, 1908 floor, and a latch carried by the floor and mov- 1,353,376 Barlow Sept. 21, 1920 able into and out of position for engaging the 1,375,189 Tucker Apr. 19, 1921 ratchet wheel and holding the floor in its raised 10 2,396,928 Parsons Jan. 23, 1945 position.

CLAUDE B. HUTCHINGS. 

